ncrs.org not available

[Mark E.]

Over the past couple of weeks, there were 3 or 4 different periods when ncrs.org was not available. Each time, I wasn't able to access the site from 1 to 3 days. Instead I see a standard error screen that says "Site not available. NCRS.org is not responding..." or something like that.

During these times, my connectivity otherwise seems normal, with access to other sites and normal response times. I have the same problem using our home PC, my laptop, and a PC at the office (two different local networks).

After I'm able to once again access ncrs.org I see posts in the forum time stamped during my downtime, meaning that at least some others are not having this issue.

So has the site been going down for some? Or is this mystery all on my side?

[Don H.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

Mark
I found NCRS org unavailable last week as well, but the problem was me. I had dont a fat finger or something and the system blocked my IP address. I had to contact the IT team and request my IP be unblocked. My problem would not have resolved itself as yours did. The website was not down over the last couple weeks, so I believe the problem was on your end, but I don't know what the problem might have been,
Don Hooper

[Mark E.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

Thanks Don. Today is the first time since my last post on Aug. 14 that I've been able to access the site. The message on the screen when unavailable is:

The connection has timed out
The server at www.ncrs.org is taking too long to respond.
The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.
If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection.
If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

Meanwhile, connectivity with other sites is normal. If everything looks normal on the NCRS side, I guess my next step when this happens is to check connectivity from other PCs on other networks.

[Don H.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

Mark
are you using Internet Explorer as your browser? If so, that is your problem.
Suggest you load on Chrome or Firefox and use that browser for accessing NCRS.org.
The website does not work well with IE any version.

[Mark E.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

Nope. Firefox is my default browser, but the site wouldn't come up using IE or Chrome either. So it seems the problem is independent of the browser.

[Rick A.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

have been having similar problems at work myself - doesn't matter what browser I try

[Jack M.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

Guyz,

When these issues occur, which page are you trying to load... the MAIN Homepage for the NCRS, or the TDB Forum?

Personally, I've had similar issues/delays in the past when trying to access the TDB Forum only (not the MAIN website). This can occur because there are different scripts/programs (loading in the background) that are required for the forum to be displayed properly by your browser. Some of these scripts/programs are located on the NCRS server, but some come from external locations (like Google and Yahoo). In my case, the failure in having the page load was caused by an external link... it was NOT the fault of the NCRS server.

SUGGESTION: If you are having difficulty loading the TDB Forum, try the MAIN website and see if you have a similar issue. That might help to isolate the problem.

Just a theory,
Jack
(NOTE: The forum page just hung for me while I was attempting to post this reply. I can see the issue in the lower left corner... an external script from yahooapis took forever to load.)

[Rick A.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

doesab't matter which page or browser get time out error at work

[Gary C.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

Guys,

Do a traceroute from the DOS Command prompt or from Windows Start button search and you'll see where your connection is hanging up.

The NCRS server has been up all the time and not had any down time nor not been available.

The Internet is an information highway with lots of connections and detours.

When you encounter non response, do the traceroute command and post the results of where the failed or long response connection is occurring.

You can google traceroute or ping functions and read about these commands in one of the Wikis.

Gary
....

[Rick A.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

yeah, well unfortunately need SA privileges and they ain't get let me have that!

[Jack M.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

Here are a few potential FREE network tools... which are also totally PORTABLE.
They run out of their own directory or delete the folder for a FULL uninstall.
In fact, many portable apps can be run via a flashdrive/thumbdrive.

Take a look at the following:
1) eTools: CLICK HERE
2) 3d Traceroute: CLICK HERE
3) WinMTR Portable: CLICK HERE

A few different features on each... very easy to setup and use.
And if you can't run them at work, perhaps they expect you to be working.

Hope this helpz,
Jack

[Mark E.]

Re: ncrs.org not available

Update.

I discovered that the problem I had was due to my wireless router!

I called tech support for my ISP, and they asked me to directly connect my PC to the modem (bypassing the router). This regained access to NCRS.org. When I reconnected my PC via the wireless router, the site was not available.

To fix this, support had me unplug then reboot the router.

Tech support said they've seen this before but could not explain why a router sometimes selectively blocks a website.

What's odd is that all other sites I visited were available; only NCRS.org was blocked. That really threw me.